The first time I tried Taiwan beef noodle was in Taiwan. I liked it so much that when I got back to Vancouver, I went looking for a Taiwan noodle house here. As luck would have it, I found one of the best in the city. The place is called Taiwan Beef Noodle House. I admit that’s not the most original name but at least you can’t mistake it for anything but a Taiwan beef noodle house.
Ever since discovering the Taiwan Beef Noodle House, we try to eat there once a week. It’s not fine dining by any means. The service level is pretty low but that seems to be the norm with cheap Asian restaurants in Vancouver. Luckily, the food is very tasty and the price is very low.
The restaurant is located in Vancouver at 8390 Granville Street. It is about 15 minute drive from my house in Richmond. It’s too bad they don’t have one in Richmond. I can see it dividing the weekly Dot Com Pho fest. Taiwan Beef Noodle House is a small but extremely busy restaurant. I recommend weekday or late night dining only.
Kelp Seaweed
You cannot order a bowl of Taiwan beef noodle and not order the seaweed. If you never tried seaweed before, it taste like, well, seaweed. I love the seaweed at the Taiwan Beef Noodle House. You can eat it by itself or with noodle. The seaweed makes a good cooling agent since the broth used for the beef noodle is pretty spicy.
Chili Cucumbers
This is a very refreshing dish. It’s sweet but there’s a nice kick if you bite into a chili. Like the seaweed, the chili cucumbers can be eaten by itself or with the noodles.
Taiwan Pancake
This is a very exotic dish. It looks and tastes nothing like a North American pancake. The pancake wraps around some beef, onion and Hoisin sauce. It’s a good dish to share.
Taiwan Beef Noodle
This is the main reason we come to Taiwan Beef Noodle House. The restaurant offers two types of broth with their noodle – one spicy and one not so spicy. I’m sure you’ll be able to figure out from the above photo that I ordered the spicy broth.
Lunch at Taiwan Beef Noodle House is very reasonable. All the above came to just $20 including tips. The next time you have a beef noodle craving, check out the Taiwan Beef Noodle House. It doesn’t matter what time you have the craving either because they’re open 24 hours a day.
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{ 69 comments }
The first thing I noticed from you trying all of these ethnic foods was that you travel a lot. You go to a specific type of meal and most times you have been to that country. I’m jealous!
same here
Yeah, it’s great to have the freedom to travel around the world
The first one looks awful
That seaweed really doesn’t look eatable
its nasty
haha…kind of like my first encounter with sushi…but i got over it. Now I can’t get enough!!
Don’t knock it until you try it. Seaweed is pretty damn good.
I was just thinking, “seaweed? yuuuuck” However, when I was in Grenada they gave me this seaweed milkshake…and MAN it was good. So…who knows.
I love seewead. It is so damn nice! I know thats not the traditional English view but I’m willing to go against the flow on this one
I agree, but that pancake thing looks pretty delicious
Yummy!
Seaweed is delicious.
DUDE! Call me next time you’re gonna go…
the beef noodle looks the best
The Taiwan Pancake looks quite yummy
Yeah and the description sounded good. Anything with beef, I’m going to like!
Yeah the beef noodle does look the best, though I’d have to go with the non-spicy base. Grew up on meat and potatoes and am just not that big a fan of spicy stuff.
That pancake looks darn good too!
From the pictures, I would choose the pancake and maybe the low spice beef noodle.
I’m probably right there with you!
Yup, my stomach can’t handle spicy food anymore
Ye, the seaweed isn’t something that looks too munchable, but then again, it’s probably delicious, like Ed Lau said.
That Taiwan beef Noodle looks really hearty! It reminds me of a Filipino Dish that I also like very much called Bulalo (I’m not sure if I’m spelling it right)…
I’d love to dine sometime if I’m ever in Vancouver, are you game?
Always game to dine with readers.
That’s pretty cool of you John. I’ll keep that in mind if I ever find myself on the opposite coast. I’ll bet you know where to find some killer steak
No offense meant, but if we were going by looks, the Kraft Dinner I just ate would win in this situation.
I’d rather eat seaweed than Kraft Dinner. I can’t stand that stuff!
I agree for all but the beef noodle soup. Just can’t go wrong with beef
I’m sure they taste really good … but that picture of the seaweed and the beef noodles dont look very appetizing…
you lost me when I had to order the seaweed.
I thought the health inspector shut that place down?
They corrected whatever they inspector wanted them to correct.
Oh man, I don’t think I would trust the place now…even if they “fixed” it!
Holy cow! Health inspectors actually shut things down in Vancouver? Not so here in Halifax… They just tell them to fix stuff, even stuff that would get you shut down in other cities.
I used to like eating there until I got really horrible food poisoning from a bad pork dumpling… Ugh, even thinking of it makes my stomach turn.
You get sick everywhere.
Everywhere that serves rotten food, yes
Yeah nothing turns you off of a place like food poisoning. My wife had a bad sandwich at a place around here and we just can’t go back because she remembers it quite clearly.
First, as a Taiwan citizen, I would like to thank John Chow for picking Taiwan Beef Noodle as this post topic. It really promotes fantastic Taiwan cuisine. Beef Noodle happens to be one of my favorite.
Secondly, for those who said seaweed is not eatable, you do not know what you miss in your life. I repeat, you do not know what you miss. Just try, you will like it!
Third, man, your post makes me damn hungry……
Finally, I found another Taiwanese here… nice to meet you~
Is the Taiwan pancake similar to what most Chinese restaurants call a scallion pancake?
They are different. Scallion pancake only the plain pancake with scallion(or you can called green onion).
Hmmm HMmmm…. goood stuff man!!!
Love the pancake. Not so keen on the seaweed.
Kelp definitely tastes better than it looks. I hear they’re quite healthy, too; helps rid the body of harmful toxins.
mm beef noodles.
mmm seaweed.
food is food; i wouldn’t really care what it is unless i have choices. i am a vegetarian though, so of course i would go for those green cucumbers rather than beef noodles.
Do you ever eat at home, or do you just eat out all the time?
Nice Nice I will have to go there one day and give it a try. You ever make the trip to Vancouver east side restaurants? we have some lovely Asian ones that I go to in the east end.
I really can’t believe you got all that food for only $20 including tip. That’s insane!
OMG, all of that food is making me so hungry.
Seems like you don’t need to travel outside of Vancouver to find good food. Sounds a lot like the SF Bay Area.
very special…
http://kimonchan.blogspot.com
welcome to my blog,and give some suggestions.
I want to eat it very much!
long long ago…
I’m taiwanese and this is by far my favorite taiwanese dish! I’ve grown up eating so many different versions of it from my aunts and grandma. . . . John, if you’re ever down in SoCal, you’ve got to try the spiciest Beef Noodle Soup at Dai Ho in Rosemead ( a small city 15 min east of downtown LA) . . . let me know and I’ll come join you! . . . . i dare anyone to go there and eat their beef noodle soup without a towel!
I can’t remember the last time I ate a meal that looked as nice as that….
And $20 for a lip-smacking meal big enough to feed 3 to 4 people…not bad at all.
I like some exotic food but sometimes if food looks creepy i just cant.
The pancake just looks plain yummy. I wish there was a way for us to taste it through the monitor.
The chili cucumbers look a lot like bitter melon slices though, don’t they?
That Beff Noodle stew looks ridiculously delicious.
I have to be honest.. It doesn’t look very good.
You know, In the past I have been very ignorant about food…I like seeing the pictures you take of things you eat- it shows me food that I have never heard of-and encourages me to try new places. I see from your pictures many foods that I know I am going to love,even without tasting it yet. Those cucumbers looks so pretty, the soup so rich.
hmm due to this, i’m going for my 2nd lunch of the day now!
Your a braver man than i will ever be, i will stick to ham sandwiches:)
You made me so hungry! Yum.